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Installations Comparison
There are many different roots one can go when deciding on an installation piece; the artist must come up with theme, location, and objection. He/she must determine the reaction and experience they want their audience to gain from the art piece. Installation art in principal is taking a large area and changing its perspective by filling it with art that Read more →
Categories: fifty shades
Tags: art | budget | environment | Hannes Koch | installation | Olafur Eliasson | rain | space | Weather
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permagnus
Hej kendra, I'm not 100% sure which projects you refer to, can you add links to the original posts on OSS of the two projects?
It's nice that you point out that both installations deal with rain and by extension the outdoor environment, while being indoor experiences. As a creative-mental exercise (!), can you imagine what the inverse might be? an indoor experience taking place outdoors…..
Details, I'm curious: Can you explain what you mean by "objection" that the artist comes up with?
Also, I think I grasp "control their own root" but can you fill out the details? What is happening in the installation, how are people controlling something, and what might be their reaction?
In terms of project management, which project do you think is more complex? more expensive?
Chou
This is a good comparison because the two projects are bringing up the theme "weather". However, there should be a comparison between cost, time spent one planning, executing and the size of the space. A good planning should take the above-mentioned into consideration. However, I think the Rain Room might have taken more time when it comes to installation. The artist uses the strings as the element, seems like it needs a lot of time to install. For the budget aspect, I guess The weather project has spent more than the Rain Room. It uses monofrequency lights, projection foil, haze machines, mirror foil, aluminium, and scaffolding. The technology needs maintenance, hence it's it might be more costy.
permagnus
Good points, and justification for the assumption of higher costs for Rain Room due to the specialised equipment, which is relevant both for acquisition (or rental) and maintenance during an exhibition.
Angel
Hi Kendra, I agree with the comparison that you brought up in your post. However, the comparison about project planning might be lacking in your post.
I think i agree with Permagnus' that there needs to be more comparison in terms of the details in planning and budget.
it'll be good if you provide more information or links to the project.
Kamarule
Well, I feel art installations is about changing the visitors experience and of course you're right, changing the perspective as well. I feel the comparison is quite limited here however I do agree that art installations in general have to consider when there is no one in there or whenever there is people. It changes the meaning of the work as well.
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A comparison between The Nobel banquet and Burning man
The Nobel banquet and Burning man are both two projects where people are gathered for a cultural experience. Both events focus on acknowledging some kind of performance, whether it is an artwork or some kind of scientific discovery. Burning man is described as a “cultural manifest expressed through art, communal effort and innumerable individual acts of self-expression”. The Nobel banquet is Read more →
Categories: Fifty Shades
Tags: Burning man | Cultural event | event | Inspiring event | project | Project comparison | Project development | Project planning | The Nobel banquet
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Fifty Shades: I like that you mention that both events is a cultural experiences, I never see the Nobel Peace banquet as that until now. I agree with you that both events needs a lot of planing but in terms of execution, the time comparison to planning is lesser. However, I would like to argue that the artists will not affect the planning of the Project Manager if the project is carefully planned and the organiser knows how and what exactly the role of the artist. So the PM will have control of the artists instead and not the other way round.
Hej Erik, Can you add links to the original posts on OSS of the two projects?
COuld it be that the linking concept is "rite" or "ritual"? Each is a partly acted, partly collaborative, large, annual experience for people who share some beliefs.
I like that you clearly identify the objectives that are common between projects - knowing how many people are attending, the program of the ritual, etc.
What are the parallel requirements for the respective "performers" - the Nobel banquet has a mix of royal speeches, laureates, speeches, and artists & musicians. SOme change, some stay from year to year. Is it the same with Burning Man festival (i have no idea, i'm quite curious).
the Banquet is in fact much shorter in execution - a couple of hours for the public event.
Here's a question in regards to scope for you to ponder: What does it take to be a featured artist at 'Burning Man'? How are they chosen? And what does it take to be a "featured Nobel laureate" at the banquet…? How are they chosen..?
Note that the Nobel Peace prize is marked by a ceremony in Oslo, while the other prizes are given at the Banquet event in Stockholm. In Alfred Nobel's days, Norway and Sweden were united as one country (in many regards but not entirely).
Indeed, both The Nobel Banquet and Burning man are projects where people are gathered for cultural experiences.
I like that you brought up a couple of similarities between the two projects where - both need a long planning time and a relatively short execution period.
However, I will have to disagree the fact that one of the biggest differences in the planning of these two is that Burning man needs to include different artists in its planning. As what Kamarul had mentioned earlier, I too, agree that the different artists will not affect the manager of the project. It should be the project manager that is taking control of the whole project and execution.
Do you agree?
Who is the project Manager @ Nobel Banquet?? I searched but can't find any names!
By contrast, the artistic director @ Burning Man is widely publicised, e.g. https://journal.burningman.org/2015/11/news/official-announcements/kim-cook-hired-as-burning-mans-director-of-art-civic-engagement/
What does this difference in 'prominence', if you will, tell us about the two events?
I do agree with what Permagnus and Kamarul said. Particularly the comment about, " that the linking concept is “rite” or “ritual”? Each is a partly acted, partly collaborative, large, annual experience for people who share some beliefs."
Also, it is important to note that for burning man, 70,000 people will converge on a temporary city in the Black Rock Desert, which is a really large scale project and it needed an additional layer of planning which is urban planning in comparison to The Nobel Banquet.
Hi, I agree with you that out of a project management view, they are very similar in their planning stage as well as in their execution. Each of the projects contains of a certain amount of activities that’s often dependent on a time schedule. However, I think as long as a project involves with people in planning the project, like Nobel Banquet, different members from different countries are participating, it is more tedious to schedule in terms of the precision of the timing and planning the content of the activities.
Your take on the comparison between these two projects is very interesting; to look at them from a cultural perspective is something that I would not have seen otherwise. However, like Kamarul and Cindy have mentioned, I also disagree that the artists involved would heavily affect the project management. I believe that the involvement of the artist is dependant on then project managers, such as working within the scope, scale, and theme of the event that has been given to them rather than the project managers working around the pieces in which the artists have created. I believe that there is somewhat of a balance between both but I would say that the artists would have to work around the constraints in which the project mangers have given them rather than the other way around.
The One With The 50 Shades Of Comparison
In this Fifty Shade assignment, I have chosen two of the project that I am going to compare and contrast.
Art Stage Singapore, an annual Art Fair here in Singapore. Link to project. The Fragility Of Time, a series of sculpture by artist Ignacio Canales Aracil. Link to projectThese two projects are chosen mainly because they overlap each other in Read more →
Categories: Fifty Shades
Tags: art | artfairs | artist | artstage | artworks | compare | contrast | critique | exhibition | gallery | manager | organiser | organization | project management | sculpture | South East Asia | time
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Very well conceived and written, Kamarul. You have certainly understood the fundamental aspects of project management in the arts. Beyond theory, you integrate your personal experiences to further strengthen the overall analysis of how you imagine the two projects might run. And finally, I sense there is a lot of passion in your writing. Inspiring!
Good use of the concepts in Ramroth to classify both artists! I should have thought of that when I was writing mine! I like the how you simulated the timelines using 6 months as a gauge on how you would imagine the project would unfold. I have much to learn you Kamarul!
Hey Kamarul! I like how you compared the two in a parallel timeline. With a common ground it makes it easier for us to understand and see the comparisons that you made. I haven't been to Art stage itself, but I was thinking perhaps maybe the timeline for Art stage may stretch even longer? After the event ends, they might still have to tie up some loose ends of perhaps addressing any issues or mishaps or administrative stuff etc!
Thank you vivian for the comment. Yes I agree. Even though I didn't put it on the timeline, I did mention briefly in the essay about it could stretch further to settle the closure part.
Thanks D for the kind words. I believe the timelines could be improve if I spend a little more time thinking about it actually. We all learn from each other!
I like how you divided the hyperessay into different parts. It makes the essay so much clearer and you even included a timeline. I think you did a great job on this.
Good use of the theory from Ramroth and apply to both artists. Thanks for the clear illustration and let us understand how it works. In terms of budget, the Art stage Project manager would definitely plan more in finding sponsors in order to cover the large spending on such big event. However, the profit getting back could be relatively high as it gets the bulk of their profit by getting an amount of percentage of the galleries sale in comparison with the The Fragility Of Time.
X-analysis of ICEHOTEL and Boyhood
I have chosen to analyze and compare the ICEHOTEL and the film “Boyhood” by Richard Linklater. The reason I chose these two projects is that they are two completely different projects, both aiming to create an experience and tell a story that exceeds any expectations of the audience.
Creating a new unique hotel Read more →
Categories: fifty shades
Tags: 12 year time span | Analysis | Architecture | Art | Boyhood | College | Experience | Growing up | Hotel | Hyper-essay | Ice | ICEHOTEL | Jukkasjärvi | Middle school | Movie | Parents | Planning | Snis | Snow | Sweden | Teenage boy | Texas | Torne River | USA | Winter
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I really like how you mentioned that the production of Boyhood is a reiterative process and linking it back to Ramroth's book! In fact, I feel that even the ICE Hotel could be an iterative design because every year they would definitely improve the design and the user experience to make that particular year Ice Hotel much more better than the last one!
Hej Kristoffer, Can you add links to the original posts on OSS of the two projects?
Wow, your selected pair of projects might be the most diverse I’ve seen so far…:)
I’m still not sure what the most prominent connecting feature would be… in relation to time (and planning constraints), one is so very linear, and the other so very cyclical.
If you were to use a single word to connect the two projects, what would it be?
Thanks for introducing the concept of “snis” to me. I found https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snis (sorry guys, it’s in Swedish…) which points to an article (also in Swedish) at http://www.destinationkunskap.se/uppbyggnad.html. But I can’t find any information about snis architecture from a structural engineering point - perhaps you could probe this a bit deeper?
This is interesting: “to store 4 000 tons of ice that was harvested the previous winter in big warehouses onsite” which indicates the material is “old snow”. How old can snow get?
I find this comparison between ICE Hotel and Boyhood very interesting! I wouldn't call it 'diverse' but rather I see the similarity of "unknowable result" that encouraged you to put these two projects for the essay. I do agree that they are both one-of-a-kind and harder to replicate, with Boyhood not having a fixed timeframe or rather an unidentified "result". Whereas ICE Hotel has to be built within the seasonal constraint.
To sort of answer Prof's above-mentioned question: These two projects share the same limitation/problem of "the future time" as they are dependent on them. The success of these projects varies because of it.
I also thoroughly enjoyed this bit - "they were constantly going back and forth among the phases of a project stated by Ramroth." so great job on including project management text as well!
Good points!
Hey Kristoffer! I was really surprised by your choice of projects for comparison as like you said, they were really different! I do agree with you when you mentioned that the "phases in this project are more critical to its outcome", but I guess the Ice hotel would have more opportunities to have their rescheduling and rethinking done - but in the next year's event, while Boyhood was more of a one shot project that had no turning back!
Hi Kristoffer! I like that you took a different path and choose two projects that are really diverse. I liked that you mentioned that, "ICEHOTEL is on a more time limit schedule due to it’s season specific, it opens to the public in December and it usually stays open until the melt starts in April."
It is great that you picked out on these details that affected the project in a huge manner.
Hi, you bring up the issue that has to be taken into consideration. These two projects require enormously planning. Both projects are different in terms of life-cycle and budget. The ICE hotel can only be implemented within a season and BOYHOOD has longer execution time. It would be good to know the cost of these two projects
An interesting analyze and comparison between two completely different kinds of projects. I agree on what Kamarule already pointed out, that the Ice Hotel project could be seen as an iterative design since it is constantly reconstructed and improved.
You described the Boyhoods planning to be fluidly constructed along the projects development. This is something that theoretically shouldn’t be done, though its necessary in this case if the movie should develop accordingly to the actors’ life.
Boyhood vs Dog photography project
In this hyperessay, I will be comparing Boyhood the movie and a photography project about dogs by Amanda Jones.
Boyhood is a 2014 American independent coming-of-age drama film, written and directed by Richard Linklater, and starring Patricia Arquette, Ellar Coltrane, Lorelei Linklater, and Ethan Hawke. Shot intermittently from 2002 to 2013, Boyhood depicts the childhood and adolescence of Mason Evans, Jr. (Coltrane) Read more →
Categories: fifty shades
Tags: acting | actors | boyhood | dogs | fifty shades | fliming | long term | long term planning | movie | photography | planning
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It seems that you shared more about Boyhood than comparing between those two. I don't feel the comparison between the two is enough. But I do see 1 similarity in both project and that is leaving up to faith on how the future is going to be. For example Richard adjusts the script according to the actor's life experiences which he has no control over. While, Amanda also has no control over what happen to the animal after the first photograph is taken and also what happen to them after a decade. Both took risks in their projects and somehow it pays off.
Hi Angel, Can you add links to the original posts on OSS of the two projects?
So the linking concept is TIME.., am I right? Almost all the text is about ‘Boyhood’ - can you make more comparisons between the two projects? (i.e. positive links, similarities..).
I think Kamarul puts the finger on a crucial point saying that both projects, in particular Boyhood, HAD to get started without knowing much of the details in terms of what would happen. This is a fairly common technique of writing (I’ve heard crime writers say they set the stage and then “let things happen”).
I don’t know much about the dog photography project, but one significant difference seems to be about the specificity of their respective subjects.While the actors in the film had to be the same individuals, the dogs in the longitudinal photo were chosen because the artist had access to photos from different stages in their life. I think one constraint is constructive, the other is simply an inclusion rule – do you agree?
I think the fact that the movie Boyhood was started off without a complete script was a good point that Angel points out.
In relation to this, it could be either the director wants the movie to begin without having to follow a certain structure or it could be just poor planning at the beginning.
It was good that you include the budget of both projects, but it might be better that there are more comparisons between both projects. What do you think?
The comparison between these two projects is fantastic, especially since the both of them would have taken years to complete and the end result is somewhat unforeseen and uncontrollable.
In your comparison, it is very clear that Boyhood was a much more elaborate project as compared to the Dog Photography Project. What I would like to ask, though, is how do you think the overall planning for the Dog Photography Project was designed? You mentioned how that 'It was interesting to note how she actually manage to keep in contact with the owners of the dogs to take their pictures again more than a decade later.' How do you think this project would have panned out if Amanda had not secured a way to keep in contact with her subjects in order to recapture her subjects several years later?
Both project is executed without a master plan in mind. Thus, over the span of 20 years, the artist has to make small goals and reach them to keep the final result polished.
Of course, Boyhood received much more publicity from the Dog Photography project probably because of the larger scale of the formal.
For projects as long as these two (~20 years), how do you think the artist kept their stakeholders interested in their projects?
With regards to keeping stakeholders interested, one of the reasons could simply be for documentation. It's always interesting to see how time changes a subject, after all, especially one close to your heart.
Hyper Essay - Fragility
Plannet: https://oss.adm.ntu.edu.sg/pe0001in/2016/01/21/floating-baby/
Fragility of Time: https://oss.adm.ntu.edu.sg/chen0907/2016/02/01/58/
The two projects that caught my eye was Marc Quinn’s “Planet” and Ignacio Canales Aracil’s “Fragility of Time”. Not only these two art pieces have similar mediums, they explore similar themes: to explore instances that only exist for a very short time.
In Marc Quinn’s “Planet”, the artist plays on weight (it is made of heavy metal) and the Read more →
Categories: Fifty Shades
Tags: Assignment 1 | Fifty Shades | Fragility of Time | Hyper Essay | Ignacio Canales Aracil | Marc Quinn | Planet
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Great essay Peng Cheng! Your interpretation for these 2 works is very descriptive and detailed. Yes I agree with you that both artworks shared some similarities and also differences in terms of production phase and also scale. In fact, I feel that Ignacio's Fragility of Time could be a wonderful addition to the Singapore Gardens by the bay as well! It compliments the space as well.
Hi Faye,
Can you add links to the original posts on OSS of the two projects?
You have written a beautiful sentence, very succinct and inspiring: “The projects vividly depicts the human fear of the inability to control time and forgetting important memories.”
“Canales probably have experiment many times before perfecting his sculpture”. if you look at his webpages at http://el-nogal.tumblr.com/ they give an idea of the progression of his works. Not exactly experimentation (has he written any articles about that?) but it broadens our understanding of his ‘fragility’ project. Can you trace where his artistic development has taken him, over the past three years?
“Marc Quinn choose Singapore’s Garden’s by The Bay to display his works.” This assumes the (nice!) situation that the artist was presented with a choice! Was that the case? - did you see a statement about it (at his webpages, at Gardens BTB webpages, NEA…?). If so then you must include the quote + reference, it would be very interesting. On the other hand, could it have been a commission from Gardens..?
I like how you explain the consideration of transportation in these two projects. I never thought about this aspect but this could be an important consideration because the project Fragility of Time is delicate, whereas Planet is huge and seems like impossible to handle by one person. Hence, the schedule and execution of transportation could be the major part of the planning.
This essay is very good. it compare many aspects of two projects that i never thought about before. The materials is the most obvious different, other than material, it also point out their organisation,site,collection,transportation,concept and so on. I think it's very complete, and there is more i can learn from it. All these elements and aspects need specific project planning.
I like it. Fragility is always an interesting topic to talk about. It's interesting that the sculpture is now at MBS, as I've seen it and it seems peculiarly out of place in its surroundings. But when placed together with Fragility of Time, it takes on a new level of depth.
Hyper-essay : sculptures related to human
My hyper-essay is going to talk about Marc Quinn’s Planet and Kumi Yamashita’s Origami Shadow Art. Both of them are interesting and mind-blowing sculptures but made of different materials and techniques. Also, their concepts and process making are not the same in many aspects either.
In 2011, shadow artist Kumi Yamashita, was commissioned by American Read more →
Categories: Case Studies | fifty shades
Tags: comparison | floating baby | hyper-essay | Kumi Yamashita | Marc Quinn | Origami shadow art | planet | process making | sculptre
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'His assistant beavers away quietly in the background, making phone calls, tapping on the computer. The concrete floor is heated. The music is just about hearing level', I'm not too sure how this statement is relevant here.
Maybe you can add in your essay stating the similarities that both of this work are actually site specific. I agree with you on how both project's process would take a very long time to plan and execute. Well, I like that you picked 2 projects that shared the same element, which that of human anatomy. I like how you mention how the shadows of the origami is an immaterial entity but you might also want to think about the Planet's shadows as well. Do they serve the same purpose or its an extension of the artwork.
Quinn's piece might be site-specific, created for a commission by GBTB (was it??), but isn't the origami piece very easy to move from one gallery to any other?
Hej Daning,
IMPORTANT: you must add "fifty shades" as a category to your post, otherwise it doesn't come up on the main page..!
can you add links to the original posts on OSS of the two projects?
Nice that you point out that "the human shape" connects the two projects, i think you are right there; and then, each art project transforms the way we understand "body", in different ways, by manipulating scale and massiveness.
You describe Quinn's "big, white studio in Hoxton, east London. It’s modern, functional – not like a lab, not quite, but rather clinical" so well that I think you've visited it! The film clip is nice, but it would have been great with a narrative guiding what is going on, don't you agree? Some people speak italian, are you sure it's in London?
As Kamarul suggests, there might be parallels between the pieces in terms of their planning and execution – in addition to their shared subject matter – and that could be explored further.
the origami piece i believe is site specific because She was commission by American express to portray the people working over there through the use of the shadow origami.
I do see a linking concept running through these two projects. However, it is interesting to note that both works seems to be difficult to transport. As Marc Quinn’s Planet is a huge sculpture and Kumi Yamashita’s Origami Shadow Art is something which is so intricate that one small dent can ruin the work.
It could be interesting to explore if there were any difficulties faced in doing the project.
I like the comparison between the materials. There is a huge different between the medium, thus the presentation is so much different but both are related to human shapes. In terms of transportation, the way of handling the projects is different. Paper is fragile and sculpture needs more than one person to carry. The selection of the material is also part of the planning.
SR / GS
Things people find funny on the internet appear to be arbitrary and contrary in nature. Games as different as Saints Row and Goat Simulator can both be similarly categorised under ‘funny’, and that’s funny.
Saints’ Row is a game about gangland violence, and finds it’s origins in the decidedly unfunny circumstances of gang turf wars, and organised crime syndicates. The writing Read more →
Categories: Case-studies | Fifty Shades
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Lovely write up! I like how you describe both games in such a simpler way and using your own words to explain them in details. It seems both project manager of both games have different agenda I guess and for the case of the Goat Simulator, it was an intentional decision to leave the game 'incomplete' so it is up to the players to finish it. This is an interesting unconventional way to approach a project and I am wondering if we can apply it in real life. Haha.
That's where the next layer of interactivity lies, I suppose? To get the players to participate further and 'complete' the project for you. I think most interactive art works already have that element in some capacity.
Hi Faye,
I understand you are comparing projects “Saints Row” and “Goat Simulator” but can you please add links to the original posts on OSS of the two projects?
The idea of user/player feedback as part of the iterative design process is very apt. About the Goat Simulator: I’m intrigued by the idea that “many glitches [were] intentionally left in, in order to retain it’s appeal”. Can you explain more? Why do ‘glitches’ create appeal? What kind of glitches? And how did the developers get to know the ‘correct amount’ of glitches..? Would be great if you can explain a bit more how that worked. here’s another interesting observation that begs further discussion: You said that “and the internet liked it” (the Goat Simulator). How and when can this happen in general (can we MAKE it happen, or is it by fluke?) how did the “GS” developers know which glitches people liked in this specific case?
When you describe the design philosophy of Saints Row, you write “the team wanted to…” something something or “Saints Row developers felt…” so and so. Is this your personal interpretation from the experience of playing? or is it stated by the design team? Can you include a quote and reference (e.g. link to the company webpage where they describe the ideation of the game).
Your comparisons with specific game techniques seem relevant (e.g. “rag doll physics”), but do add a definition or give an example so the reader can follow how it applies to this case.
I think it was really good that you picked out the different nature of the two games and talked about how even though they are both games, the developing process was very different and for GS, the nature of the game required that process of it not being planned as precise as SR.
I don't play games but it's good to have this simplified explanation between these two games. It would be good to know the budget of creating both games.
A nice review between two similar projects executed in a quite different way. I like how you separate the projects from each other and line up their differences even from their initial start. But I think that you could have tried to describe how these differences affected the projects output, what divides a big scale project from a small scale when creating the product.
Hyper-essay: the ephemeral
Selected projects: Ice Hotel & The Fragility of Time
The first thing that strikes me about both of these projects is the ephemerality of the artworks. Weeks, months, and maybe years of careful work and planning have been put into these projects, only for them to last perhaps a month or two at best.
The Fragility of Read more →
Categories: Fifty Shades
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50 people compare to 1 Ignacio. Do you think the synergy formed by the 50 people would make the ICE Hotel a better project than The Fragility of Time?
I like how you compare 2 works according to their impermanence state. I did Ignacio's artwork as well but I did not see it that way, so you certainly open up my mind and eyes. You mention Ramroth's 5 phases of project management in your essay. In your opinion, how do the closure of this 2 projects would be? Will they be different?
Hi Jazlyn,
Can you add links to the original posts on OSS of the two projects?
It seems that fragility, impermanence (cf. Kamarul), and time constraints are concepts common to the two projects. How does this play out in terms of project management?
You can analyse by creating fantasies!
For example, imagine that you are the architect given the task of designing next winter’s Ice Hotel. You are given a location and a budget by the local community. What would your priorities be? Would you follow last years success recipe, or create something entirely new..?
Other project: imagine that Ignacio Aracil calls you up (on Twitter?) one fine day and wants to hire you as PM for his first show in Singapore. Say yes! He wants you to start with his creations and from that make ten wearable flower sculpture-dresses for a fashion show in Singapore in four months time. How would you set up the budget? Who would you rope in? At which venue would you show it?
Sure, will do.
Project management would be similar to other creations, except that motivation may not be as high because the final product is transient. It's also always harder to work with fragile materials than sturdy ones that will endure through wear and tear. Budgeting would be a problem because fragility and impermanence in a project makes it less forgiving.
If I was an architect working for the Ice Hotel, to be honest, I'd follow the success recipe, but add a twist. The hotel itself is successful, but the theme is subject to creativity. Perhaps I would try a theme that has not been attempted before.
Hi Jazlyn! The title for your hyper essay struck me and I also enjoyed the essay of yours. Probably you can also touch upon the significance of these projects? Touching on what Kamarul had mentioned, “50 people compared to 1 Ignacio” why wouldn’t Aracil do the project with more people? Amongst the 50 people, not 50 of them are project managers too, who can be identified as the one spearheading the project?
Despite the projects being ephemeral, I also would like to add that the Ice Hotel occurs periodically while Aracil’s project is probably done only once. However, the future of Aracil’s project can be amplified in a sense of being placed in exhibition after exhibition, provided the flowers are still intact! :)
Hyper Essay "What is Performance?"
Performance. What is performance, or rather what do you think about when you hear the word ‘performance’?
Darryl talked about the critically acclaimed musical, Wicked. From it’s origins as words in a book to sold out tickets on Broadway (and in international waters), Wicked has become one of the most famous and popular musicals in the world.
Categories: Case-studies | Fifty Shades
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Great comparison on the scale of the projects. Amalia's performance being a solo one while Wicked being a large scale one. This must have involved a lot of human resource management skills on the part of the producers of Wicked in contrast to Amalia's work. What do you think would be problems faced if one wanted to recreate Amalia's project on a scale as large as Wicked? Would the human resource elements differ from that of Wicked?
#Fifty Shades
If the same amount of funds were given to a large scale recreation of Amalia's project, I think those who participate wouldn't have to put themselves through the financial struggles that Amalia's went through whereby she engaged in getting herself a sugar-daddy in order to keep her head above water.
However, I think a major difficulty in recreating Amalia's project on a large scale would be keeping everything undisclosed. To find people who would be able to subject themselves to what she has without facing major ramifications, the negative comments received can be seen as 'online bullying' which has led to depression, and sometimes even suicide. Those who are unable to handle might feel inclined to expose the truth behind the project thereby tearing down the facade that they have built for the performance.
I agree with Josephine on how you categorise both projects as a performance. I would like to point out that even Amalia's project needs a big wardrobe and props! She carefully frame each photograph and cropping out any unnecessary part before posting, so to me that is part of planning as well.
But nevertheless, both projects are of different scale and I like how Darryl suggest that what if Amalia's project were to go large scale. I think I have an answer to that. Advertising, fashion commercial photography. Those project are actually as a bigger scale, getting the right model, the right wardrobe and also the right photographer.
Hi Josephine,
i’m uncertain which previous project posts you are referring to. Can you please add links to the original posts of the two projects on OSS?
Interesting choice of contrasting projects: large budget vs small, short execution vs long.
I’m unsure if it’s possible to state that “The planning for Wicked never ends, in fact it still goes on today” because in principle each performance is based on the same script and there might only be minor variations between shows. The ‘planning’ of a musical performance leads to a libretto a.k.a. script (and a musical score, and lighting plan, and floor plan, and costume design etc). Once these are delivered, the design is executed by a skilled, trained cast and tech operators over an hour or two.
The difference in scale (number of people involved) between the two projects is remarkable and you discuss it well. In terms of execution, i understand your argument that Ulman’s project was to continuously reinvent the poses and selfies in order to feed into the “self-made myth” at the same time it was taking shape. There’s perhaps less of a plan and more of an iterative design with numerous updates. During what time period (start and ‘end’, if any) does her work develop? Another point (in your reply), can you explain what you mean by “sugar-daddy [helping her] to keep her head above water”? A boyfriend who supported her? or a fan who bought her work?
Finally, I think Kamarul is correct when pointing out that upscaling or simply developing further Ulman’s project would lead to commercial fashion photography, rather than Martin Schoeller.
I agree that her performance took a lot of planning, no doubt about that, especially since she had to convince everyone that she had gotten breast implants and had to make sure that her breasts looked bigger in every photograph thereafter. However, I didn't stop the think about the amount of props and the amount of clothes needed to create this persona of hers, as well as the framing of the photos to make them convincing. Thanks for that (:
I would say that to put Amalia's project into advertising, fashion and commercial photography would be difficult. Social media is used to advertise a lot of products, and, in fact, Amalia did fake a paid sponsor/advertising post. But the way in which her project and advertising is done is different. The performance she gave us was a facade till the end and only received critical acclaim when she concluded. To create controversy around a brand or model before revealing is was all a advertising ploy can be risky and may even cause a loss in followers, support, and perhaps even a drop in stock value for large companies, causing more damage than rewards.